Read Online Angel Of Solace by Selene Edwards - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Selene Edwards
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through three separate checkpoints and were making their way out of the docking ring to the ground level. Ten minutes after that, they were out onto the streets of the sprawling city, and he took a long moment to appreciate the size and majesty of its mighty spires and interlocking buildings. It must have been what Louvette looked like before the Reckoning…
“Come, we have friends to meet,” Vaelen said.
Avrick fell into step and did his best to pay attention to where they were going while still marveling at the sights. Several kilometers off to their left, sticking out from the sea itself, was the great and legendary statue Elassians considered a cultural icon: the Faceless Knight, a proud, archaic warrior said to represent Elassia’s best ideals and principles. He had caught a glimpse of it from the sky as they had approached, but somehow seeing it without the filter of a dimmed shuttle window made it far more majestic.
Vaelen eventually hailed a taxi, and the driver took them deeper into the city at a speed that put their shuttle to shame. Avrick lost track of the time as they traveled, but it couldn’t have been more than a half hour before they reached their destination: the second floor of a nondescript, run-down apartment building that could have fit in nicely on any street corner in the world. The two men left their cab, paid the driver a fee that seemed borderline criminal, and made their way up the stairs to the door.
Before either of them could push the keypad at the door, it slid open and a squat, wide-faced man opened the door with a smile. “Faith and glory, my friends,” he said. “It is good to see you again, Vaelen.”
“You as well, Zanek,” Vaelen replied, firmly shaking the other’s hand. “This is my associate, Avrick Torgain—it’s his first trip here.”
Zanek grunted and clapped the younger man on the shoulder. “I almost feel as if I should apologize.”
The three men walked inside, and Avrick quickly took in the room. It was much larger than he had expected, though much of the space was just empty. Several of the walls had been knocked out, leaving a wide open area with only a sparing amount of furniture, a table with a computer and accessories, and a modest shrine on the western wall.
Before he had time to comment, however, a fourth man, tall and slender, entered the room from the only other doorway. His skin was pale and his eyes, shimmering like coal, were deeply set. He couldn’t have been more than fifty, but the face of an Angel was unmistakable.
“You honor us with your presence, my lord Marivean,” Vaelen said, immediately dropping to a knee. Avrick hastily followed his mentor’s lead.
“It is you who honor our Lord with your sacrifice, noble Chosen,” the man said in a cool, even tone. He gestured for them to rise.
Avrick did his best to keep his face passive even as his mind raced with the possibilities. An Angel here, in Solace? He knew they were meeting a team on the ground, but he had expected priests and other Chosen. As far as he knew, Angels virtually never left the mainland, and if they did it was to preside over another fully built temple in another nation, not muck around in the slums of a decadent and dangerous city like this.
“I take it my presence is a surprise to you,” Marivean commented, his lips curled in minor amusement.
“Uh…yes, my lord,” Avrick managed.
“Your mentor was instructed to leave out certain details. We cannot be too careful these days.”
Vaelen offered the younger man an apologetic look before turning back to the Angel. “Now that we have arrived, do you have new reports for us, my lord?”
“We do, in fact,” Zanek said from behind. “You arrived just in time.”
The Angel nodded, his eyes measuring the two Chosen and lingering on Avrick. “Indeed. I trust your mentor has prepared you for what is to come?”
“As well as I could,” Vaelen said. “It is one thing to talk about a place and another
“Come, we have friends to meet,” Vaelen said.
Avrick fell into step and did his best to pay attention to where they were going while still marveling at the sights. Several kilometers off to their left, sticking out from the sea itself, was the great and legendary statue Elassians considered a cultural icon: the Faceless Knight, a proud, archaic warrior said to represent Elassia’s best ideals and principles. He had caught a glimpse of it from the sky as they had approached, but somehow seeing it without the filter of a dimmed shuttle window made it far more majestic.
Vaelen eventually hailed a taxi, and the driver took them deeper into the city at a speed that put their shuttle to shame. Avrick lost track of the time as they traveled, but it couldn’t have been more than a half hour before they reached their destination: the second floor of a nondescript, run-down apartment building that could have fit in nicely on any street corner in the world. The two men left their cab, paid the driver a fee that seemed borderline criminal, and made their way up the stairs to the door.
Before either of them could push the keypad at the door, it slid open and a squat, wide-faced man opened the door with a smile. “Faith and glory, my friends,” he said. “It is good to see you again, Vaelen.”
“You as well, Zanek,” Vaelen replied, firmly shaking the other’s hand. “This is my associate, Avrick Torgain—it’s his first trip here.”
Zanek grunted and clapped the younger man on the shoulder. “I almost feel as if I should apologize.”
The three men walked inside, and Avrick quickly took in the room. It was much larger than he had expected, though much of the space was just empty. Several of the walls had been knocked out, leaving a wide open area with only a sparing amount of furniture, a table with a computer and accessories, and a modest shrine on the western wall.
Before he had time to comment, however, a fourth man, tall and slender, entered the room from the only other doorway. His skin was pale and his eyes, shimmering like coal, were deeply set. He couldn’t have been more than fifty, but the face of an Angel was unmistakable.
“You honor us with your presence, my lord Marivean,” Vaelen said, immediately dropping to a knee. Avrick hastily followed his mentor’s lead.
“It is you who honor our Lord with your sacrifice, noble Chosen,” the man said in a cool, even tone. He gestured for them to rise.
Avrick did his best to keep his face passive even as his mind raced with the possibilities. An Angel here, in Solace? He knew they were meeting a team on the ground, but he had expected priests and other Chosen. As far as he knew, Angels virtually never left the mainland, and if they did it was to preside over another fully built temple in another nation, not muck around in the slums of a decadent and dangerous city like this.
“I take it my presence is a surprise to you,” Marivean commented, his lips curled in minor amusement.
“Uh…yes, my lord,” Avrick managed.
“Your mentor was instructed to leave out certain details. We cannot be too careful these days.”
Vaelen offered the younger man an apologetic look before turning back to the Angel. “Now that we have arrived, do you have new reports for us, my lord?”
“We do, in fact,” Zanek said from behind. “You arrived just in time.”
The Angel nodded, his eyes measuring the two Chosen and lingering on Avrick. “Indeed. I trust your mentor has prepared you for what is to come?”
“As well as I could,” Vaelen said. “It is one thing to talk about a place and another
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